What is personal information

Personal information is any information or opinion about you where your identity is apparent or can be reasonably ascertained. It includes:

a written record that may include your name, address and other details about you;

photographs, images, video or audio of you; and

your health information, blood, tissue or DNA samples, or information about a health service provided to you.

Personal information includes obvious things like your name, address, telephone numbers and email addresses. It is also information about your family life, information about your sexual preferences, financial information and political views. It is defined in full at section 4 of the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW).

Health information is a specific type of personal information which may include information about your physical or mental health or, disability. It is defined in full at section 6 of the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW).

What is not personal information

The following is not personal information:

information which relates to a person who has been dead for more than 30 years; and

publicly available information.

Publicly available informationThis is information about named or identifiable people which is published in newspapers, books or the Internet, broadcast on radio or television, or posted on social media such as Facebook or Twitter. It also includes the names of graduates and their degrees made known at a public event like the graduation ceremonies of the University. Because such information is publicly available, it cannot be protected from use or further disclosure.

Personal information collected and held by the University

The University collects and retains personal and health information in the course of undertaking its functions. The object and functions of the University are prescribed at Section 6 of the University of Sydney Act 1989 (NSW).

The University’s functions can be summarised in broad terms as:

teaching

research

administration and support; and

community engagement.

Here are some examples of the personal and health information that the University collects and holds. The University does not have any public registers as defined under Part 6 of the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998:

Teaching

Student records

Graduation records

Student files and other file-based records such as special consideration and misconduct

Records relating to learning and assessment

Research

Records of human based research

Records of research and research grant administration

Administration and Support

Staff records

ICT records such as email systems

Records of medical and related services available to staff, students and the public.

Community Engagement

Alumni records

Donor records

Researchers and borrowers in University libraries, museums and archives

Patrons and performers for public lectures, seminars, concerts and similar events